Executive Take: Dick Patrick

The major executive who has been with the organization the longest and is perhaps the furthest from the spotlight is team president and partial owner Dick Patrick.  He is a member of one of hockey’s most legendary families, starting with Lester Patrick, Dick’s grandfather.  Lester Patrick helped develop many of the rules of hockey in its infancy in the early 1900s.  He also has an award named after him, the Lester Patrick Trophy, which is given for dedication to hockey in the United States.

Dick’s cousin, Craig, played for the Capitals from 1977-1979 and won two Stanley Cups as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Oh yeah, and he won an Olympic Gold Medal as Herb Brooks’ assistant with the 1980 U.S. Men’s hockey team.  His father Muzz and uncle Lynn both played for the New York Rangers team that won the Stanley Cup in 1940.

Executive Take: Ted Leonsis

People often wonder what they would do if they were extraordinarily wealthy. What would you buy? What would you do? Where would you go? Some have the dream of owning a professional sports team, but few achieve the level of wealth to make it possible. Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder proves a lifelong dream doesn’t necessarily lead to success, while Capitals owner Ted Leonsis worked through his rookie mistakes to become the majority owner of the most successful team in the city.

Ted Leonsis was born in Brooklyn, NY and attended college at Georgetown University in D.C.  His marketing company, Redgate Communications Corp., was bought by AOL in 1993 and Leonsis became a senior executive at AOL for the next 13 years.  Among the positions he held at AOL were vice chairman and president.

In 1999, Leonsis had the opportunity to cross something off his “bucket list”: owning a professional sports team.  He bought the Capitals from Abe Pollin, then owner of the Washington Wizards and the MCI Center (now Verizon Center). 

Leonsis’ reign began just after the team’s lone run to the Stanley Cup Finals, and in his first two years as owner the Capitals won back-to-back Southeast Division titles.  Aiming to improve on his team’s consistent playoff woes, he began going to free agency to bring in big name, big money players.  He signed Jaromir Jagr to a 7 year, 77 million dollar contract which at the time was the biggest in NHL history. 

Executive Take: George McPhee

It wasn’t too long ago that Caps fans had little hope of playoff appearances, let alone deep runs.  There were times when a 10,000 person attendence was considered a good turnout.  The Caps have now sold out their last two seasons, and likely will again this year.  One man was primarily responsible for their turnaround, and his name is George McPhee.

McPhee didn’t always spend his days in a suit.  A prominent player at Bowling Green State University, he was awarded the Hobey Baker Award in 1982 for college’s top player.  After being a standout player throughout his entire college career, McPhee had a seven-year stay in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers.

McPhee began his front office days with the Vancouver Canucks where he held the position of vice president and director of hockey operations while assisting then general manager Pat Quinn.  The Canucks made the playoffs four times, won a division championship and made it to the ’94 Cup Finals (where they fell to the Rangers) while McPhee was with the team.

A Tribute to Jeff Halpern

A couple of days ago, while Willie Mitchell was taking up all the Caps news because of his workout for the team, something slipped through the cracks.  There was another non-cap skating at Kettler that day too.  His name was Jeff Halpern.

Caps fans know him well, and he will always have a special place in the hearts of locals.  Halpern is from Potomac, M.D., a suburb of D.C. (and the current residence of yours truly).  He went to Churchill High School, where there was no hockey team at the time.  Thus, he left home and transferred to St Paul’s School in Concord, N.H.

After graduating from Princeton, Halpern began his NHL career with the Capitals in 2000.  He was never drafted, and signed as a free agent with the Caps after graduation.  He was only the second NHLer from Maryland in the history of the league, and the fact that he was a local kid who grew up admiring the Capitals instantly endeared him to fans.

A New Project

As some of you may already know, I accepted a position today to cover the Washington Capitals for The Hockey Writers.  Because of this, I am changing the makeup of this blog slightly.  All my Caps analysis posts and things of that nature will now be found posted on thehockeywriters.com.  I am still going to keep this blog for any Nats, Skins, or Wizards posts and for more fun, satirical posts on the Caps.  Please follow me over to the Hockey Writers during this transition!

Thank you all for your support and taking the time to read my posts.  Hopefully, there will be better things to come!

Willie Mitchell to Caps?

Something that the Capitals have been lacking in the last couple of year is a sound, veteran, physical, stay-at-home defenseman.  There were several names that came up not only at the trade deadline, but also at the start of free agency that could potentially fill this void.  One of these names, Willie Mitchell, has become a very interesting option.

The defensive defensemen has spent the last four seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, amassing 10 goals and 58 points in that time with 233 PIM.  What he is most known for, however, are his crushing hits.  He laid a hit on Jonathan Toews last season that knocked the Blackhawks Captain out of commission for six games.  The best part? It was completely clean.  Toews even admitted after the game that while it was a hard hit, he should have had his head up and it was his own fault.

Glimpse of the Future: Patrick Wey

To get us through these last couple of months until training camp, I will look at some of the lesser-known prospects in the organization who have unexpectedly impressed.  This will be called "Glimpse of the Future" and this will hopefully be the first of many I am able to do. Enjoy!

Patrick Wey let out a sigh of relief this morning when he was not among those who received the news they would be leaving Lake Placid, N.Y. and the United States National Junior Team Evaluation camp.  The Capitals’ fourth round (115^th overall) pick in the 2009 Draft is safe for now.

At last month’s development camp, Wey impressed.  His skills appear to be coming along, and the more time he gets playing with older, larger players at Boston College the more he will develop.  The 6’2 200lb physical yet well-rounded defenseman began his elite hockey career with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League.  The Pittsburgh native moved to Iowa to play for the Black Hawks at the tender age of 12.